Terribly Interesting

My brother Mike was a photographer. He had an uncanny eye to catch things unseen by the average person. He could see things in people that most of us would choose not to see. He could find the beauty and capture it on film. He was like that in life. People were very comfortable around him. You felt more relaxed, more beautiful, more you. When he died, there was a gaping hole in my heart. I desperately needed to laugh again. I needed to see that things were going to be alright again. I needed to see the glory of God in my day to day surroundings. I picked up a camera. At first it was a little Sony 8megapixel that I had bought to take pictures of my first daughter. I was desperate to see glimpses of God in creation, in faces, in clouds. I saved up and bought a Canon Digital Rebel. I snapped and snapped and snapped. I didn't recognize what I was doing for a long time. I did not see that I had begun doing this almost immediately after my brother had died. Somehow, it makes me fe...

Prepare your heart to begin again. Be strong. Be courageous. Release fear. Let loose of discouragement. I AM with you wherever you go. Don't you dare give up. Begin again. Joshua 1:9 For more on this segment, see this post .

Laomai and I recently began reading the books in the Childhood Character series by Ralph Bouma. It designed for 9 to 13 year olds, but my four year old loves it. We read a chapter a day and she couldn't wait to hear what happened to the character next. It teaches lessons that build faith and develop character. New Edition of another 19th century classic! Charles, a rambunctious orphan, is adopted by a wealthy older couple, but it quickly becomes clear that his adoptive father, Mr. Raymond, is a very ungodly man, while Mrs. Raymond is a devoted Christian woman.   Throughout Charles' childhood, Mrs. Raymond patiently but firmly trains Charles in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, as he struggles to learn the ways of the Lord. Charles constantly finds himself tempted to many disobedient behaviors. Through the trials, blessings, and lessons of Charles' life, children learn many truths about walking with God and resisting the temptations that arise out of the...

If you are looking for a little less relish and a little more spice from your eggs, try this recipe.

I have sold about $1,300.00 in my quest for a new kitchen. That provides me with my copper dream sink and a faucet. Now, I can start working towards new cabinets and a floor. Then the dream will be to get a new fridge (ice box as I call it), stove, and dish washer. Oh the joys of modern conveniences. Oh, the joy of a floor.  Synda was here working on the door again. It is her pet project. The last few weeks we have been on the road. We have ministered to family and ministered at a week of camp for a Christian school. That means little got done at our house. That's hard, but it also gives us a huge desire to work when we get home.  I have been talking to God about writing another book. My friend Pauline asked me last week if I wanted a desk that she had gotten from an attorney's office in Houston. Do you think it's a sign? The other funny thing is that a friend of mine has a desk very similar to it and I have long admired it.  I have been doing some photo ...

Everyone does this "what I am thankful for" each day on their facebook status updates in the month of November. I have been participating. I am really thankful for everything in my life. I am thankful for the deep things of God all around us. I am even thankful for the shallow things of this life. I have to admit what is really going on in my mind while I am writing things out each day. I am thinking that I am thankful that my daughters will not grow up in a culture that sells them into the sex trade. I am thankful that they will not know the horrors of sex trafficking. I am thankful that I do not know it myself. I am thankful that we have not sacrificed our children to the idol of culture and society. I am thankful that we do not live where war atrocities grip common life. I am thankful that my children will be given a chance to know Christ as He truly is. I grateful to get to educate at home and to be home. I am fall down on my face thankful to get to love people who...

I want to take a different approach to this today. I have been wanting to change it up and make a new picture for the segment.  The other day I was laying in my bed thinking about the ministry associated with the coach from Penn State that is being investigated for sexually assaulting a child. I started wondering if he had used a biblical theme to bas the name of his charity on. The Second Mile. In common terminology, people say to go the extra mile, but saying second mile bore the direct resemblance to Matthew 5:41.  " If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles." That line is what he used to form his organization.  I just sat there for a second. I was staring at the words and I began to tear up.  I had made the mistake of reading how they found the man abusing a child. I felt sick that he had done this and lured these young boys under the guise and face of Christ. I wondered if he had been abused by a religious authority himself. Then I...